New Orleans City Park wants to add nature play area, "grand" water feature
New Orleans City Park leaders will unveil the park's new master plan on Wednesday.
The big picture: Plans include a children's play area and a shallow reflecting pool, City Park Conservancy President and CEO Rebecca Dietz tells Axios New Orleans.
The water feature is meant to be a "grand entrance" to the park near Dreyfous and Marconi drives.
It will be on the site of the former pool that closed in the 1960s rather than integrating.
"This feels to us like an opportunity to welcome everyone in the community back to enjoy water in the park," Dietz says.
The specifics will be worked out in the design phase, Dietz says, and the timeline will depend on funding.
Zoom in: The ideas came from a series of community meetings with hundreds of attendees.
The plan also includes elevated overlooks (hills!), fields with native plants and walking trails, Dietz says.
Plus, there are new boathouses and sports fields, along with better access to the islands and lagoons.
Restrooms, water fountains, parking, shade, trashcans, way-finding signs and other "givens" will be priorities throughout the park too, she says.
What she says: The plan will be "somewhat transformational without changing the backbone of City Park, which is already so special to so many people," Dietz says.
Zoom out: Residents will be able to weigh in Wednesday at two public meetings at the Pavilion of the Two Sisters in City Park.
The meetings are at 11:30am and 6pm. The same information will be presented at both. RSVP.
Catch up quick: The City Park Conservancy, the nonprofit that began managing the park in the 2022, is creating a roadmap for the next 20 to 25 years.
The last plan, which was approved after Hurricane Katrina's devastation in 2005, focused on the southern half of the 1,300-acre park.
This one focuses on the northern half: Couturie Forest, the golf courses, the lagoons and the acreage on the lakeside of Interstate 610.
The process started in 2023 and was expected to finish last year.
Yes, but: The planning was put on hold after pushback over the future of Grow Dat Youth Farm.
Grow Dat and the park eventually reached a long-term agreement, and the park scrapped plans to relocate the youth farm to make room for a new road.
City Park then rebooted its planning process with more voices involved, including Grow Dat staffers and a youth committee.
By the numbers: The plan will cost millions to implement.
Dietz said the park will pursue federal money when available, but will rely heavily on grant money from private foundations and donors.
The funding will guide the timeline and which elements are prioritized, she said.
What's next: The two boards that govern the park will vote on the plan at their August meetings.
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